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The U.S. Open Men’s Winner Could Be Anyone–Assuming He’s Not American

Milos Raonic of Canada returns to Roger Federer of Switzerland during a match earlier this month.

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As the years creep by, it becomes more and more noticeable that the U.S. is lacking in quality men’s tennis players. A male U.S. player hasn’t won a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open—and, with this year’s U.S. Open set to kick off on Monday, the sting of disappointment is fresher than ever.

Given the country’s heyday, when equivalent gods like John McEnroe and Pete Sampras ruled the court, this seems fairly egregious. However, Tennis.com’s Steve Tignor takes the approach that tennis is a truly global sport, and that patriotic pride doesn’t necessarily matter.”Tennis, not being a team game, frees its fans from having to choose our favorites based on where we live (only in Davis Cup and Fed Cup do players wear anything that identifies them with a location),” he writes. “We’re free to support whomever we happen to relate to and enjoy watching. In that sense, tennis fandom is both global and very personal. It’s also inter-connective; rooting for a player from another country inevitably teaches you a little bit about the world beyond your borders.”

With that in mind, you might feel free to root for any non-U.S. player as the tournament gets underway. There are the usual suspects, like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray—former champions who’ve struggled at different points through the season, but might yet regroup for a strong finish to the season. There are newcomers, like Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov—players barely old enough to drink who nevertheless broke through this year, making semifinals and inspiring confidence that they could break the gridlock at the top of the rankings. There’s no clear path in sight, not with last year’s champion, Rafael Nadal, sitting at home with a bum wrist. “Some see anarchy. Some see opportunity,” writes USA Today’s Doug Robson. “The ultimate test in tennis is what you make it.”

And, as always, there’s the hope that Roger Federer, he of the appropriately aged haircut and impeccable tennis resume, might pull it together to take his 18th major—a hope that doesn’t seem so panglossian considering he made the Wimbledon final, and nearly knocked off Djokovic after that. With a recent hard court title to his name and a dearth of unbeatable challengers (sorry, Rafa) in sight, this could be his tournament. “If Roger Federer is suffering from sleep deprivation following the birth of his second set of twins this summer, he certainly isn’t showing any signs,” writes the Miami Herald’s Michelle Kaufman. “In fact, the father of four appears to be playing with boundless energy of late, defying his 33 years.” There’s a story to root for, American or not.

* * *

Yes, you heard correctly: Michael Sam sacked Johnny Manziel over the weekend, and the world did not split open like an atom. Sure, there were GIFs shared and videos replayed of Sam doing Manziel’s own taunt at Manziel, and a hyper relevant awareness of football’s two most scrutinized players coming into such intimate contact with another, but that was it. The world lived, as did we. If anything, the interaction reaffirmed that Manziel is under more of a magnifying glass than Sam, because at least Manziel’s detractors openly admit they’re waiting for him to fail.

Old people complaining about millennials is nothing new, and yet there’s a certain stink of unfairness to all this Manziel naysaying—perhaps because he is a genuine change from the endorsement-happy, God-loving drone that usually stands on the sideline. Manziel, bless him, hasn’t learned the hang of staying out of the spotlight, and he’s loved for it. Sports on Earth’s Will Leitch favorably compares him with Tim Tebow, who he ranks as a bore. “Johnny Manziel, however, is an ongoing rollicking road show, a daily dose of something new and different and a little dangerous,” he writes. “The way Manziel plays on the field — jittery, unpredictable, capable of the transcendent and the boneheaded in equal measures — appears to be roughly analogous to the way he is off the field. (At this point, if you haven’t captured a photo of Manziel surrounded by women or holding some sort of brown liquor, you’re simply not trying.)”

Is this something to admire? Sure, why not? If the Browns are willing to wait it out, then so should the rest of the world—if not because he’s willing to flip the bird and amuse us all, but because he may indeed develop into a quality quarterback. And we might have fun watching, which is the point.

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